Many attempts to encourage girls to pursue scientific careers through toys seem to follow a line of thinking that suggests that merely producing playthings in pastel purples and pinks will make them more appealing to the female gender. I have addressed the questionable nature of this hypothesis in a couple of other posts. (See Goldiblox, … Read more
Got a Lego enthusiast in your class? Show him or her this, and you will be sure to get a passionate reaction. You might want to be careful, though. I mean, it’s one thing to look at it online, but to travel where it is and actually sit inside might become your Lego pal’s next … Read more
Yes, I know the Build-On Lego Brick Mug is a bit of a departure from my usual posts, but it is Fun Friday, and you must admit that this is a great idea! A good portion of my gifted students love building with Legos, including Lego robots, and I am pretty sure that they would … Read more
Daisy the Dinosaur is an iPad app that teaches basic programming to young children. It has a Challenge Mode, in which the user is given 5 challenges that increase in difficulty, beginning with programming the dinosaur to walk forward. In Freeplay Mode, the user can experiment with several different commands, including making Daisy grow or … Read more